Keynote Speakers

"It"

One of the most oft asked questions Lauren gets asked is “How did you do it?”. In this deeply personal keynote, she shares her life story by exploring the big ideas of her journey: taking risks and making tons of mistakes, learning how to communicate, and finding her community. She shines a spotlight on the programs and people who allowed her to grow…all coming from a place of love.

Lauren, a former camper, won the title of Miss Deaf America and was a kindergarten teacher in Manhattan for a decade before leaving that job to take care of her two young children. In 2016, she was hired as the American Sign Language tutor for the director of the Broadway revival of Children of a Lesser God and was subsequently cast as the lead, receiving multiple rave reviews and a Tony nomination. She soon became a series regular on the long-running series, The Walking Dead, and the first deaf superhero in Marvel's worldwide hit, Eternals. Lauren received a 2020 BAFTA Breakthrough award recognizing the most promising stars of film and television.

Main Character Energy: The New Science of How Camp Cultivates Growth and Grit

Grit powers us through familiar challenges. Growth helps us adapt to new ones. Both these sources of character are declining in K-12 students—but both are boosted by camp. So, what is camp getting right? Compared to school, camp provides young people with greater opportunity to be their own role models, making the development of character elements like grit and growth more organic, individual, and resilient. In this keynote, we’ll explore how to make the most of camp’s opportunity by encouraging practices such as intentional wonder, story sharing, and “no hero like you.” And we’ll also learn how to help campers keep improving their grit and growth when they leave camp and return to a world where tech use, standardized tests, and parental expectations are the norm.

Angus Fletcher is a professor of story science at Ohio State's Project Narrative. He earned an undergraduate degree in neuroscience at the University of Michigan and a PhD in literature from Yale University. His research into cultivating emotional resilience, creativity, and character building has been endorsed by the National Council of Teachers of English and praised by experts like Malcolm Gladwell, Brené Brown, and Martin Seligman. He is the author of Wonderworks (Simon and Schuster, 2021), Storythinking (Columbia University Press, 2023), and Primal Intelligence (Penguin Random House, 2025).

Marcus Collins, an award-winning marketer, is a professor at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, and the author of the best-selling book, For The Culture: The Power Behind What We Buy, What We Do, and Who We Want To Be. His deep understanding of brand strategy and consumer behavior has helped him bridge the academic-practitioner gap for blue-chip brands and startups alike. Over the course of his career, Marcus has developed a practice for creating culturally contagious ideas that inspire people to take action. He is a Forbes columnist and a trusted voice among CMOs and business leaders. But most importantly, he is a proud Detroit native, a devoted husband, and a loving father to Georgia and Ivy.

Additional information coming soon!